CHAPTER 43

“You bastard!” The door to James Carroway’s office slammed open and an amazingly pissed Kim Kissably stalked in, screaming. “You bloody fucking bastard!”

            Carroway looked up from his desk, glancing at the wall to see if she had left any dents or even holes. “Can I help you?”

            “You can bloody well die, that’s what you can do! You bastard!”

            “Care to tell me what I did before sacrificing me to Bacchus?”

            “I’m not going to tear you apart, you bloody bastard, nor would I want to fuck you first. I want you to bloody well tell me why you gave the okay for Wasted bloody Assumption to open for us on the American tour!”

            He gestured at the chair across the desk from him. “Sit. We’ll talk.”

            “No bloody thanks. Just tell me what the hell was going on in your puny little bloody head. I’m not going if they are! I will not be forced to tour with Elvyn and his wasted member!”

            “Do you want to know why they’re going to be touring with you?”

            “No! And I don’t even bloody well care! Get rid of them! Why the bloody hell were they even signed? They’re unoriginal and so bloody pretentious! They’re not worth your bloody time! Please, Carroway...” She lowered herself into the seat, her throat feeling raw.

            “Chatha wants Xavier Holt to be with her when you go to the States. He’s fine to go on his own, but Elvyn insists that if X gets to go with his ‘lady love,’ he gets to as well. Which led to Acwellen proposing that they open.”

            Kim stared, unable to even speak for a moment. “And... And you’re just... You said okay?”

            “I didn’t. In the case of Wasted Assumption, I’m not the powers that be. There’s someone else who okayed their tour.”

            “But you’re our man, Carroway, if it has to do with us, you should have a say!”

            “Is it my fault you slept with Elvyn?”

            “No, but it is his fault that he doesn’t know what to do with a grrl. I can’t see him again!”

            “So because he wasn’t satisfactory in bed, you’re going to avoid him for the rest of your life?”

            “Good or bad, Carroway, it was a one night stand. I promised that to Jessie, and now if he’s touring with us, what the bloody hell is she going to think?”

            “Actually...” James leaned back in his chair, smiling. “Jessie has already heard, and she says it sounds like a marvelous idea. Said something about lessons having to be learned. I’m sure you understand.”

            “That bloody American bitch...”

            “Now, I’m not the highest up you can go in Beggars to ask about this, but I think you should keep in mind that the president of the company has heard and liked Wasted Assumption. He wants them to get this American exposure, especially along with a bigger name like the Sextet. I’m sure if you go to implore him, he’ll tell you quite politely to bugger yourself. I’m sorry, Kim.”

            “I can’t tour with those arsewipes...”

            “Oh come now, aside from Elvyn, they’re okay. For kids.”

            “For goths,” she muttered. “Having Raine inseperable from Ebony is bad enough, now we need to be carrying three goth children with us?”

            “You were no older than them when you started, Kim.”

            “But I am older now, and I don’t have to put up with them!”

            “As I said before, you can take this all the way to the president of the company. I just wouldn’t suggest it.”

            “Bloody hell...”

            “It’s not that bad.”

            “Not that bloody bad? Are you bloody daft? I can’t have these arseholes opening for me! You were the one so bloody caught up on the idea of having me remain in my band and continue to make music, and like hell I’m going to be doin’ that if I have to bloody play with them!”

            James peaked his hands, narrowing his eyes. “Kim...” He sighed and dropped his hands, leaning forward in his chair. “I’ve never wanted to be the badguy. I know where you’re coming from, and I think I know where you want to go. I really do. But please remember that I’m not the end of everything when it comes to this company. I can’t make all the big decisions, and I can’t set you free of your contract. I don’t think you would survive a contract dispute, Kim, so please don’t let it come to that.”

            “You... Are you threatening me?”

            “No. That’s the last thing I would do. I’m warning you that someone else could threaten you with that. Last I saw, your contract had you bound for at least one more album, right?”

            “Fuck...” Kim took a deep breath. “Contracts are the reason why Steinman never wrote the lyrics for Phantom of the Opera. Eb told me the story once. He would have written some of the most amazingly haunting goth words to have ever been written, she says. But he had this contract going with whatever company he worked with Bonnie Tyler through, and they called him on it just as he was about to start doing the lyrics for phantom. So on Bonnie’s second album with him, you get lyrics like ‘would you follow your dreams desire’s? Would you follow your secret dreams and forbidden fires?’ Eb asked me to imagine how painfully good Phantom of the Opera could have turned out if it had lyrics like that. Lyrics that were instead just given to a few of Bonnie’s songs, only about four or something, and then he sat back and produced the rest of the album but nothing else. Nothing as grand as his projects with Meat Loaf have been. So does Beggars want me to do a few toss-off things then sit back and watch as the rest of the band tries to do something to make money?”

            “Bat Out of Hell II is due to come out this September.” James had settled back again, knowing his comment would prbably piss Kim right the hell off.

            “Get your bloody head out of your arse, you bastard! It’s not about what other artists are doing, awright? It’s about me being forced to play along with this company’s bloody decisions! Maybe I will be willing to fight this whole bloody contract thing, how does that strike you? I don’t think Beggars needs to have Kim Kissably, they just need the Sextet. Any controversial bloody little grrl can front it!”

            “You’re not quitting, Kim.”

            “Why the bloody hell not?”

            “What would Jess say?”

            Kim slammed her hands down on the desk, unwilling to meet Carroway’s eyes. “Bloody bastard...”

            “Rough it out. See this as divine intervention, and pick your boys with a bit more thought next time. You’ll survive, Kim. I have faith in you.”

            “Oh, bugger yourself sideways, Carroway. First the States, now Wasted Assumption in the States...”

            “You can always take off from one of Chatha’s mistakes and thank the Wasted Assmunches for playing when you get on stage to do your set. I’m sure it will lighten your American evenings quite a bit.”

            Kim sighed, putting her arms behind her head. “See, Carroway... I would have castrated most anyone else by now. But you’re... You’re you, I suppose. Bloody hell, why do I get Obi bloody Wan Kenobi as my inside man in Beggars? You know everything, you’ve been through everything, you’re a bloody fucking superstar. Bugger all.”

            “If you want, I could quit giving you advice.”

            “No... No, thank you, Carroway. Thank you. You’ve kept me sane in a grossly insane industry. I’ll remember that. I’ll always, always remember that.” She stood up. “I’m just bloody glad that the bitches o’ th’ group weren’t at the wedding... All I would need is Heather being at my throat because of some mistake with a dickless assumption.”

            “Actually, I got the idea from Jessie that everyone already knows.”

            “She didn’t--”

            “No, but I’m sure that Chatha did, when talking about her own success with one of the boys from Wasted Assumption.”

            “Oh, bloody hell... Carroway, can I just hide away here? Forever? Please?”

            “I think you should go home, actually. Rest up. You only have two more weeks before you’re back on the road. You don’t want your first encounter with America to be that bad, do you?”

            “Wasted Assumption is coming, remember?”

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